Letters: Education, Australia, Gaurav Sharma, high-density housing and Ian Foster

Are we pressuring teachers to pile too much work on children and turning off the joy of learning? Photo / 123rf

Slipping standards
The downward spiral of reading and writing in our primary schools (NZ Herald, August 17) were statistics waiting to happen.
In 2010, when those 15-year-olds mentioned as having only a 1 in 5 basic reading proficiency were beginning school, the National Party introduced National Standards, a programme for age-related literacy levels.
What it did was put teachers under stress. Children don't read at a calculated age level, they begin reading from a background based on early learning methods. That is, if a child has been inundated with a language base through conversations and book-sharing, then the child has a high chance of grabbing our engaging early readers and taking off. If he/she doesn't, the process of introducing these early learning skills begins in the classroom. This can take many weeks, months sometimes, to achieve. But National Standards did not allow this steady growth. Pressure saw many teachers move children into levels too difficult for them to read and enjoy, ultimately affecting their ability to write.
The Labour Party dumped them in 2017, but too late obviously for too many.
Emma Mackintosh, retired teacher, Birkenhead.

Simple solutions
Having delighted in watching my son go from Year Two straggler to reading star during a few months of extra "sounding out" focused practice, it breaks my heart to read of so many once bright-eyed children like Jimmy (NZ Herald, August 17).
I believe the "falling literacy crisis" is so persistent, not because the solution is complex and expensive, but because it's simple and unspectacular.
Social psychologists have shown the human tendency to "complexity bias" leads us to prefer complex solutions, for fear that simple ones may not be comprehensive enough. What's more, espousing simple explanations may not make us sound or look intelligent.
We now have a "balanced literacy programme" in primary schools - including a little phonics instruction, which sounds smart, but it's totally inadequate; about as effective as building half a bridge. Extra funding has been provided for disadvantaged groups; which looks enlightened, but it's about as helpful as upgrading third-class passengers on the Titanic. For decades New Zealand literacy figures have been uniformly trending downward.
Our political and educational leaders can do whatever it takes, or they can remain bystanders while our children suffer terrible consequences. I hope and pray that they have compassion, humility and courage.
Stephen Bayldon, Mt Roskill.

Turn a page
One in five 15-year-olds cannot read at the most basic level (NZ Herald, August 17) is alarming and depressing. It must surely represent the biggest challenge to the future welfare of our country.
These people, and those who follow, will almost certainly underachieve. For many, a life of crime will be attractive.
I'm not a teacher, but I offer some advice (with apologies for sounding condescending): To parents, don't leave teaching to teachers. Have books in the house, free from the library; read to your kids every day. Limit screen time to 20 minutes a day.
To teachers: Use phonetics, reading, writing, maths, exercise - everything else is
relatively unimportant.
To the Government: Forget cycleways, light rail, office refurbishments, etc, and plough huge resources into helping children and their parents to become literate.
Chris Elias, Mission Bay.

Neighbourhood news
I've just got back from Australia where I read the following newspaper headlines:
Government in trouble over skyrocketing cost of living; petrol prices ($1.70/L) out of control; RBA raises cash rate again; business wants to increase immigration to ease the shortage of skilled labour; house price crisis; and Wallabies coach under pressure after record loss to Argentina.
Sound familiar?
Paul Cheshire, Maraetai.

Baiting the cat
If you are going to attack the Labour Party and the Prime Minister, you had better have all your ducks in a row because they are a formidable team and they will close ranks.
Unfortunately for Gaurav Sharma, he didn't and chose to "ride the tiger" until the inevitable conclusion.
He would do better at returning to his own profession where he would be well respected and more useful than where he is now.
Tony Barnett, Pukekohe.

Elected members
Gaurav Sharma is the MP for Hamilton West. Sam Uffindell is the MP for Tauranga.
Neither is the MP for his party. There should be no talk of them being removed from Parliament.
That was the risk the parties ran when they endorsed them for those constituencies.
Ours is a mixed member proportional system; remember?
Martin Ball, Kelston.

Night moves
Authorities who look after children at boarding schools are not fully aware of what goes on after lights out. I was a house mistress at a boarding school and when I retired to bed at 10.30pm some girls had adventures. They included smoking, jumping into bed with another girl, chucking eggs around the neighbourhood, and sneaking out to meet up with boys. Consequently, one girl was forced by her friends to have a pregnancy test. Misdemeanours often occur when lads get together. When I was a cub leader the boys enjoyed pillow fights and other hijinks while the leaders slept. My husband recalls that the army cadets had their lower regions blacked with Nugget shoe polish as a rite of passage.
I wonder if any of these bullies have apologised to the victims. I am sure if everyone looked at their past actions they would regret doing certain nefarious activities.
But would they have the courage to apologise to their victims, or realise that anyone had suffered?
Celia Mannion, Remuera.

Boxes ticked
Packing people like sardines into high-rise, high-density housing ticks all the boxes (for the Government, that is).
It is cheaper and more economical to provide essential services such as electricity, water, transport, commuting to shops and schools, land use, the environment (questionable), and even to the extent of normalising climate change.
The one item they have conveniently, and one could even add surreptitiously, left out is people, human beings, that is, have to live in them.
Gary Hollis, Mellons Bay.

Uphill battle
Mayor Goff is dreaming if he thinks huge numbers are going to cycle 6km twice every day (NZ Herald, August 16). Apart from the practical issues, 6km in typical Auckland terrain is a daunting distance for most. I wonder what is the typical distance in flat Amsterdam, Stockholm, Beijing?
Then there is the safety issue. Many injuries are for life. Contributor Lindsay S (NZH, Aug. 17) mentions the preoccupation of modern drivers with the myriad in-car buttons and displays. These attention distractions represent a huge threat to cyclists whose course varies and who are closed upon in seconds.
To participate in the traditional NZ way of life, a car is essential. Standing costs are fixed; usage costs are little more than the fuel, typically 25c per km. Public transport, plus shoe leather, does not compete over medium distances.
Aucklanders' actions for climate change are not going to affect the outcome; that depends on the rest of the world. All we can do is set an example.
Bob Culver, Avondale.

Nimble side-step
The Rugby Union's unanimous decision to confirm Ian Foster's coaching position through to the World Cup following the All Blacks' "magnificent" win over the weekend, is perplexing, to put it mildly.
The ABs were out-thought, out-played and out-gunned against the Irish, and were similarly put to the sword in the first Test against South Africa.
Their win in the second Test was partly a result of a much-improved display but was also helped by a bizarre selection and replacement process used by South Africa.
Midway through the second half, South Africa scored a brilliant try, only to have it ruled out due to an earlier penalty offence. Shortly after, a second penalty was reversed due to a brain explosion and late tackle by one of the Springbok forwards.
The effect of all this was to gift the AB's a 13-point turnaround - which proved pivotal in the end.
Every game has its swings and roundabouts, but I fail to see what the rugby board saw to give them any confidence to endorse the coaching group through to the next World Cup.
David Bevan, Howick.

Short & sweet

On Sharma
During WWII in the UK, I remember being told to beware of Fifth Columnists. When MP Gaurav Sharma is complaining in front of the cameras and being supported by National Party MP Michael Woodhouse and others, it tells me a lot. Eric Bennett, Red Beach.

On inflation
People seem to want higher wages but lower prices; lower rates and taxes but more public services. I'm trying hard to find a solution for those - along with perpetual motion and time travel. James Archibald, Birkenhead.

On phones
The 800 or so Auckland drivers per day spotted on their phones is alarming. It's only 1.2 per cent of drivers passing the three cameras but each is a potential fatality. Ian Swney, Morrinsville.

On tax
If I was a professional looking at moving here, I'd be interested in things like the quality of the education system, health system, infrastructure and public transport. All seem to be the subject of frequent criticism, and that will only improve with... higher taxes. Allison Kelly, Mt Eden.

On mayor
The huge slate of candidates harbouring the delusion they're contenders to be Mayor of Auckland is compelling evidence of the Dunning-Kruger Effect; as well as proof of the adage, "if you've got half a mind to run for mayor, that's all you need". Doug Hannan, Mt Maunganui.

The Premium Debate

NZ's literary crisis

A major obstacle preventing schoolkids learning anything is the noisy classroom environment that's now the norm. A former teacher aide told me many classes are now taught as group activities, and in each group of a few kids, there are invariably one or two kids who never stop talking, while the others mostly just sit there, saying nothing. This teacher aide said the room was often so noisy, they themselves couldn't think straight. How much harder must it be for those kids trying to concentrate and learn? Anna B.

So we went from world-class to bottom of the class. All for looking at new ways, but what did we do so well in the past when we were world-leading? Waipapa M.

All well and good, but after spending a lot of lockdown painstakingly teaching our eldest to read it has been beyond heartbreaking to have him go back to school and go backwards as teachers are trying to learn a new system and making everyone do baby steps regardless of baseline ability. It feels like the early adopters of structured literacy are little more than a trial cohort and that the NZ education system - in the lower years at least - is prepared to settle for mediocrity for all. It's vital that we do everything we can to get as many kids as possible up to a competent standard of literacy and numeracy, but for the good of the country, it's equally important that we ensure every child fulfils their potential too. Tim G.

Thank you Herald for keeping this in the news. This issue is so important. So sad. So paramount for the future of our country and any First World society. It is heartbreaking that we demand excellence and grieve so badly when the All Blacks lose but it seems okay to slip to the bottom of the literacy and numeracy charts. Betrayal of our young. Keep the pressure on for our kids' sakes and kids' kids' sakes. Mark C.

American academic Thomas Sowell said: "Much of the social history of the Western world, over the past three decades, has been a history of replacing what worked with what sounded good." This is very true in education. It's not the fault of the teachers but the blame lies with the non-teaching theorists - eager to climb on the latest theoretical bandwagon. They impose these theories on the system without trial and the whole country suffers when they don't work. John K.